Panhandle Health District
8500 N. Atlas Road Hayden, Idaho 83835
Vaccinations Prevent the Return of Disease
By Cynthia Taggart
Panhandle Health District
Polio, diphtheria and other diseases have grown rare in the United States, so some parents are asking, “Why continue to vaccinate?” Vaccinating is similar to bailing water out of a boat with a slow leak. When the boat is full of water, bailing hard and fast may empty it. But we can’t throw the bucket away and relax because water will seep back in. With no bailing, water eventually will fill the boat again.
Until we stop the leak or eliminate the disease, we have to continue our efforts. A few cases of disease today will spread if we remove the protection that vaccination provides. Before we know it, we’ll have lost the progress we made over the years.
Measles is a good example. Nearly 320,000 children in the United States were infected with measles in 1950 before a vaccine was available. Of those children, 468 died. In 1967, the measles vaccine was introduced and cases dropped to 62,705 that year with 81 deaths. In 2000, U.S. health officials declared measles eliminated; the United States averaged fewer than 30 cases per year and no deaths from 2000 through 2007.
But in 2008, measles cases climbed to 64. In 63 of those cases, people were unvaccinated or thought they’d been vaccinated but had no proof. Health officials have vigorously promoted the measles vaccination ever since to prevent resurgence in this country of childhood’s most deadly rash/fever illness.
Vaccines now control diseases, such as measles, that once spread quickly and killed thousands. They’re given early in life because many of the diseases they prevent are most common and deadly among infants and small children.
Children in metal leg braces were a common sight before the polio vaccine. How many of those do we see now? Parents in the 1950s were terrified polio might leave their children unable to walk or force them to spend their lives in an iron lung.
The vaccine eliminated polio in the United States, but polio is still common in other parts of the world. International travelers are polio’s ticket back into the United States, particularly when parents don’t immunize because they believe the threat is gone.
The National Immunization Survey keeps track of how many children ages 19 months to 35 months are current on their immunizations. The national goal is 80 percent. In the latest survey, Idaho, at 57 percent, ranked last among all states for its rate of young children with up-to-date vaccinations.
April 24-28 is National Infant Immunization Week, a good time to make sure your child is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines for all children are free in Idaho. There’s only a charge to cover the costs associated with administering the vaccine. At the Panhandle Health District, that charge is $14 to $26, depending on the number of vaccines a child receives during the visit.
Make your appointment today by calling your medical provider or any Panhandle Health District office:
Check the following chart to find out how current your children are on their vaccinations.